Make or Break

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Synopsis

'Smart, witty and bursting with joie de vivre' WENDY HOLDEN
**Romantic comedy with a twist in its tail, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Louise Pentland.

Jess**, a 29-year-old Londoner with a Kate Beckett fringe and a tendency for dramatics, gets taken on a surprise trip by her long-term boyfriend, Pete, to attend her best friend’s last-minute wedding in South Africa. Jess imagines sun, sand, wine and safaris. And returning to London with an ethically mined diamond on her left hand...

But this holiday isn’t set to be quite the fairy tale Jess has planned... Suddenly she finds her world tilting on its axis, and things are only set to get worse when Jess returns home…

**When the truth comes out, will it be... Make or Break? **

Catherine Bennetto is back with her trademark wit and an equally hilarious cast of characters who will have you rooting for them from the first page.

'If you like laugh-out-loud dialogue, brilliant characters and plenty of plot twists, this is for you’ heat 5 star review

'Warm and witty'** My Weekly**

'You will **laugh **and **cry **with every high and low. WE LOVED IT!' Take a Break

'Eloquent and heartfelt - seamlessly ensuring that the laughter and the lump-in-the-throat moments follow hot on each other's heels - another sure-fire hit' PENNY PARKES

'Warm and witty, heart-breaking and heart-warming, an emotional roller coaster of a read' ANNA BELL, author of It Started with a Tweet

‘Bennetto made me laugh out loud with her debut and has done it again with this one. It is witty, quick, pacey and full of the sharp-tongued humour that runs through all of her writing. Fantastic!’ Dawn

‘This is a perfect book to cheer you up on a dark day, filled with light wit. It’s very topical, with gentle mockery of things like clean-living trends, the genial chaos of family life and relationships in general…’ Alexandra Clare

‘What a page turner! Loved it! Got myself lost in the magic of Capetown, the author really captures the essence of the place, along with some funny, lovable characters!’ Rachel

‘This superb debut is a romcom at its very best and the perfect book to chase away the winter blues. I haven’t fallen so in love with a bunch of characters in a long while. Loved it' Sun

‘A charming, feel-good gem of a debut novel that’s guaranteed to leave you smiling… An **honest **narrative and a fresh voice to tell it… a great way to spend a lazy afternoon' CultureFly

'More bubbly than a big glass of champers and just as** fun**. How Not To Fall In Love, Actually is bright, breezy, and the perfect way to beat back the winter blues' **Georgia Clark, **author of The Regulars

Great overall

I really loved the first half of this book. The characters were great (especially Jess) and the South African setting was fantastic. There were quite a few laugh out loud moments too. The book eventually hit a point where it became depressing and I found myself skipping some pages. It got better towards the end with some jokes and humour and the writing was consistent all the way through. I really did love this book but just wish it wasn't so serious and drawn out through the middle. Definitely read it though if you're on the fence as it's worth it! I enjoyed Catherine's first book too and love her writing style!

by Monicaon July 23, 2018

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3.0

Clever twist on the title completely unexpected

I have mixed feelings about this book. I just couldn't get into it initially and really struggled with the first half, but did enjoy the second half a lot more.
Jess, the main character, lives in London with her boyfriend Pete and helps her sister (single Mum) with her two young children on a regular basis, along with her Mum. Their Dad is away a lot on business selling islands to the rich and famous. Then her boyfriend surprises her with a trip to South Africa to attend her friend's gay wedding (the friend paid for it all).
Once their Pete is bowled over by the outdoor life and wants to climb mountains etc., which Jess really, really doesn't want to do. So Pete meets a fairly famous guy called Goat and ends up dumping Jess for a week of their 2-week holiday to do these outdoor activities with his new friend. Jess is understandably not amused but decides to get out and visit places herself, with the aid of Jimmy a guy her and Pete had met at a galllery/club/bar where he worked.
So.... the good parts. I really enjoyed the descriptions of South Africa and all the places they visited, it sounded absolutely amazing. I also loved Jimmy's character and his brother Ian and his partner, Diego, they were so welcoming to Jess and she spent a lot of her time at their apartment.
The bad parts.... I really didn't like either Jess or Pete. Jess panicked about every tiny little thing and really over-thought things far, far too much, and in contrast was extremely over-exuberant at other times. Pete was a just a selfish idiot.
The 'Make or Break' of the title was definitely something I wasn't expecting though and was a complete shock, very clever twist and completely unexpected. And there was a very nice ending. So the first half was just so-so, but the second half was a lot more interesting for me.